Teenage Engineering PO-12 Rhythm Pocket Operator - Drum Machine

I have quite a few drum machines from a maschine plus, novation circuit, kolg volva beats and the pocket operator so I I have a pretty good idea about where this fits into the mix. It's way more powerful than it looks. It's really possible to do some quite complex things on this with only the few settings that you have. For example, yes it's a 16 step sequencer so it's quantized but if you way to have something non quantized you could shift where you trim the same at for example to get it to a microstep. The storage space on it is a bit limiting so it makes you really conserve the space you have. Longer samples for example may be hard to work with. There is a way to back it up to a sound file if you want to though which is nice to have. Recording in it is very easy. The build in mic is ok but record from line in for much better results. The battery life is great so expect a few weeks of continuous use out if 2 battering. The only negative thing I have to say is that the dials are really terrible. It makes it so hard to trim a clip for donfine adjustments. Some people have soldered different ones on that are better quality but I've bit tried it. Get the outrageously expensive case to go with it since it will save your fingers if you use it a lot. Sound quality is good but don't expect high end audio. I've found that if you get a good recording of a sample on it the quality is quite good but this just lends it's self to the type of music it can create. For comparison you can do more on this than a Kirk volca beats and it fits in your pocket. It's actually really good for just jamming and playing live

I found out about the Pocket Operators a couple of months ago and have since become a huge fan of these amazing instruments. They're fun, but serious enough to be used live and in the studio and not as flimsy as you'd think. The variations of sounds you can get from each of the 15 bass sounds (And 1 micro drum kit) is huge by combining the A and B parameter controls with the 16 play styles (How the note is played) and 16 effects. (Sounds 12 - 15 seem like they should come from a much larger, expensive device!) A seemingly major down point is that they're chromatically locked to C major, so if you want any sharps/flats you need to use the semi-tone bend effect on fx number 15. I thought this was going to be a problem, but I haven't had any issues with it at all, in fact, it enables me to think up more creative basslines. Another thing to point out is that I thought my device was broken straight out of the box as it would not turn on when the batteries were inserted. However, I discovered on a forum that by bending the battery connection points in a little, the problem was solved. I don't think I'll bother getting a case as it looks cool and is pretty sturdy - as long as you don't sling it loose into a bag or leave it lying around on the floor somewhere... Recording lines live can be a little tricky, but once you'e used to it, building up and chaining pattern sequences is quite intuitive and powerful, especially when synced to other Pocket Operators and similar devices. A lot of people have described these as 'Toys', which is a slightly misleading thing if you haven't 'Played' with them; it's small and fun, but so is a Harmonica or a Ukulele, and this can do SO much more. Oh... and there's a little dude running around on the screen while you play things that goes back to bed to sleep when playing is done!

If I were allowed to swear I would. This device is brilliant. If I explain why I bought it you'll see what hole it fills. This is important as if you want something super basic this is not for you; if you want something with every bell and whistle out there, this is not for you eitther. Right, here we go: I have played on iPhone apps that allow you to sequence drum machines. They are fun but they all seem a little too basic and far off what a professional may use. They also do not 'feel' like a good stepping stone into music production. So I wondered what to go for. I checked out software first. There seemed to be lots out there ranging in price and complexity. I was reluctant to go out and buy some software that would just put me off for life. You know what I mean: you go and buy photoshop pro, try to draw a circle and find you have to spend four hours on Google to learn how to do it! I did not want the photoshop pro version of music sequencing; I did not want to have to boot up the computer sit at a table with a mouse (and possibly a keyboard) to get going. I wanted something the size of an iPhone that I could just grab and make music. Then along came this bad boy: the pocket operator. Before you read on check out YouTube to see what people have done with it. When you link it up with another (or even more) you can get some real professional music laid. How easy it is: I am gonna be honest. It was not intuitive for me. You can't just open it and get stuck in. I struggled to even play around to work out what things did. This may not be the case if you have experience of this sort of thing; the symbols (pun intended) may mean something to you. I was a little frustrated but remembered why I bought it. I wanted something a little more professional that a simple iPhone app. And that was gonna require a little learning. So I put the work in. If you have peace you can become proficient with its use in about an hour. You may need to refer back to the instructions to remind you how to do some if it but it is actually relatively simple. I would advice learning one function then spending a few minutes playing with it then moving on. The hard part is actually making a good track. But then if that was easy we would all be pop stars! The internal speaker is not brilliant but it is much better than I was expecting so don't let that put you off; with earphones its perfect. It takes two AA batteries and is constantly on. There is no off button but this does not matter. To my understanding most of the screen is just for show but some of it does help. All the LEDs near each button all mean different things depending on what you are doing. I found it a little confusing at first but quickly got the hang of it. So, if you are looking to put your foot in the water - get this; it is wicked. I was picking my wife up from somewhere the other day. I arrived early so killed 15 minutes in the car with the Operator, wrote a little track and smiled. Boom! I read that the Rhythm was was the best to get if you were just getting one. It is not just a drum machine; you can get melody on your tracks to.

Very cool little gadget, slightly damaged packaging

This review is about the PO-20 Arcade. They may look a bit odd and minimalist, but they sound incredible and provide a lot of fun for the creatively minded. If you are a beginner to electronic music, the PO may somewhat puzzle you, but in the hands of someone with even a little bit of experience, these provide hours of fun and even some serious musical capability. The PO-20 totally takes me back to my youth when I used to own an Atari. The rich 8-bit quality of the square wave arps superbly re-create the atmosphere of that era, but with a modern twist. The chord sequencing is inspired. Very clever indeed, hats of to Jesper Kouthoofd and his team for producing something remarkable. I love the way the chord sequence changes the arps and baseline, even without turning up the drone. The side chain compression simulation on the drone sound is a very cool sounding modern twist. I am also astounded by the very expansive sequencing capability. You can store 16 x 16 step sequences and link them into a chain of up to 128 patterns, that is whopping 2048 steps! The chord sequence of up to 128 "bars" (from a choice of 16 cleverly chosen chords) is independent from this so the options are virtually limitless. Each sound has two parameters that can be sequenced too. I love the fact that I can sync my PO to my Korg Volcas and other synths. Very easy to set up, plug in and select SY2, that's all there is to it! The only bit of criticism I have is about the packaging. I get that this is all part of the overall minimalist design of the product, but does not protect it enough when sent. Especially the knobs are vulnerable as they stick out of the packaging. My first one arrived with one of the knobs smashed in. This is partly because Amazon did not properly packaged it (just stuffed it into an envelope, which got crushed between heavier boxes). The replacement came in the same rubbish packaging, but all works fine. I disagree that the unit is vulnerable to damage. Of course there are always those that treat their kit like Casey Neistat, but then of course nothing is safe from damage. Highly recommended, seriously thinking which one I want next!

I did take a bit of a gamble on this after seeing a few videos on it. Pros It's so much fun! Seriously it is very fun to just muck about with this and try out new sounds, record samples and re-mix them. Very small and very portable. Easily slips into a pocket or a bag and so light you'll never notice it. Great for getting into sampling and re-mixing. It's probably the cheapest ways to get into this out there. Has some great options and you can create some really great sounds and tunes from it using even simple filtering, pitch adjust and trims. Good thing is it never erases the original recording, so if you want to go back and change the way you've tweaked the sound you can. Cons: It does have a bit of a learning curve. There are no instructions, and even the online guide is limited in that it only explains basic functions and doesn't go into detain on how they combine. I can recommend watching some how to videos on this to learn the complexities. It has a 40 second sample memory, but that's split across all the 16 samples, so you may find it a bit restrictive. The built-in ones don't count to this 40 second limit and you can overwrite them with your own. The built in speaker is very quiet. You can connect headphones that helps, but in all the videos I've seen of it they are definitely amplifying the audio. Overall I have really enjoyed playing with this and I am seriously considering getting one of the other rhythm based units to connect to it.

They're fantastic, addictive and great fun! Downside, the Instructions are basic and you will need to watch some U tube vids. Many of these are not very good, people showing off and not explaining, but there are some good ones. 3/4 minutes don't bother, look for 10/15 minutes. The POs power down after 5 minutes inactivity, EXCEPT if there’s an audio cable plugged into the IN jack and then it’s 60 minutes. This flattens the battery MUCH quicker! I had a Rhythm and a Sub chained together, the Rhythm last in the chain with a cable in the IN jack. After 3 weeks the Sub battery is 94% and the Rhythm 43%. DON’T leave them chained together! Press Sound + BPM for battery % remaining. Swapping the dying batteries around I found the POs are on the edge of giving up at around 40% The on board speaker, well it works, it’s OK, headphones are better, but get some amplification, I play mine through a guitar amp, awesome! Doug

Lots of options on this unit and a great value!!